Spatial Multi-Criteria Evaluation for Solid Waste Disposal Site Selection in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: Case Study of Wukro and Adi-gudom Towns

Abstract

Identifying solid waste disposal sites and appropriately managing them is challenging task to many developing countries. This is also a critical problem in Ethiopia in general and in the towns of Wukro and Adi-gudom in particular. The existing waste disposal sites of both towns are not sufficient in capacity, and due to the location of the sites, the type of wastes dumped the surrounding areas are impacted severely. The rapid population growth and sprawling of the towns are further aggravating the problem. This study was conducted to first assess the existing solid waste management strategies in both towns; and secondly to identify potential solid waste disposal sites, using GIS and remote sensing techniques. The study used spatial multi-criteria evaluation (SMCE) method. SMCE was used to combine influencing factors and constraints for the selection of dumping sites locations in each town. First, site suitability maps for each of the factors and constraints were developed within GIS. In Wukro, results indicated that 12 locations were found appropriate whereas in Adi-gudom 9 locations were found appropriate. They were further ranked against their suitability in terms of wind direction, proximity to settlement area and distance from the center of the town. Finally, two locations were identified as the best appropriate site locations for both towns. This study showed that the spatial multicriteria evaluation methods are proved to be efficient and low cost tools to select appropriate dumping sites so as to facilitate decision-making processes. Future work on incorporating hydrological factors that influence the dumping site selections are recommended to fine tune the results.

Keywords: Ethiopia, GIS, MCE, remote sensing, solid waste site disposal